“Authoritarian populists no longer operate at the margins; they sit in government across the world. Their presence is normalized, their rhetoric echoed in institutions that once guarded democracy. What once seemed unthinkable is now routine. The line between democracy and its imitation is being blurred in real time, and we are told to accept this as normal. We won’t!”
These are the opening words of Charta 25, a declaration drafted by young democracy activists determined to reclaim democracy’s moral ground. Drawing inspiration from Charta 77, the Helsinki Final Act, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is a call to defend democracy before it erodes beyond recognition.
The initiative emerged after the International Youth Conference 2025, an annual gathering hosted by the International Youth Think Tank (IYTT). The conference was a wake-up call for many participants. In a troubling sign of the times, attendees did not dare to have their names or faces published in the final report, a reflection of rising fears surrounding public civic engagement.
A call to defend democracy before it erodes beyond recognition
Disturbed by the accelerating authoritarian surge, a group of seven IYTT Youth Fellows, myself included, launched a survey among the members of the IYTT Youth Panel, a global network of over 400 young people from 50 countries who share a commitment to democracy and human rights.
The survey invited participants to question established theories of democratic decline and probe whether they still hold true in today’s shifting landscape. The responses were powerful. Many argued that today’s authoritarian wave is not merely ideological but deeply structural: a product of economic inequality, institutional inefficiency, and the failure of governments to respond to citizens’ needs. Others pointed to emotional dimensions of democracy’s crisis: the loss of belonging, the rise of fear, and how social media amplifies misinformation.
From these findings, we drafted Charta 25 in a collaborative effort over several weeks. The document condemns both the complacency of established democracies and the manipulations of authoritarian populists who exploit fear, inequality, and resentment to divide societies. Like Charta 77 in its time, Charta 25 is not a program of action but a plea of conscience.
The Charter’s twelve statements, each linked to specific articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, reaffirm democracy as both a right and a responsibility. They call for honest governance, transparent institutions, equal dignity, and knowledge as a tool of liberation. They reject violence, exclusion, and the domination of money in politics. Taken together, they emphasize that democracy must be a lived practice, not merely claimed. Democracy is not self-sustaining. It must be defended not just at the ballot box, but in public life, in institutions, and in the moral courage of citizens.
The final document thus far was endorsed by 81 IYTT Youth Fellows from 25 countries across five continents and is now open for anyone to sign. Defending democracy must be the collective work of many.
Moving forward, we are sharing the document as widely as possible. For instance, I already had the opportunity to present it at a conference on “The International Dimensions and Effects of Populism”, an academic initiative that explores the political, cultural, and social roots of populism. Another co-signatory, Elena Vocale, presented it at this year’s Athens Democracy Forum, bringing our message to a global audience of policymakers, scholars, and activists. We also sent it to the UN Secretary-General.
Join our collective testimony in defense of democracy by signing the Charta 25 here.
